LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



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" UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 

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PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



LORD'S DAY CONVENTION 



ASSEMBLED 



IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON 



)N THE 24TH AND 25TH OF FEBRUARY, 



1846; 



ALSO, 



AN ADDRESS 



TO THE CITIZENS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND TO THE 
PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



WASHINGTON: 
PRINTED BY J. & G. S. GIDEON 
1846. 



PROCEEDINGS 



LORD'S DAY CONVENTION, 



ASSEMBLED 



IN THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, 



ON THE 24TH AND 25tH OF FEBRUARY, 1846 



, J.<_>rnj, 



ALSO, 



AN ADDRESS 



TO THE CITIZENS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND TO THE 
PEOPLEQffl ^ff ff UNITED STATES. 



■ 




* y °f ■ 



WASHINGTON. 
PRIi\TED BY T. <fc G. S. G1UEOIV 

1846. 



*» 






PROCEEDINGS 



THE SABBATH CONVENTION 



Washington City, February 24, 1846. 

The Lord's Day Convention met, pursuant to notice, in the First Presbyterian Church, 
of which the Rev. William T. Sprole is Pastor. 

The Convention was called to order by Mr. Sprole; and, on his motion, Hon. Albion 
K. Parris was called to the chair, for the purpose of organization, and George M. Phillips 
was appointed secretary. 

Whereupon the Convention was opened by prayer, by the Rev. Dr. James Laurie. 

The credentials of the Delegates appointed by the churches in the District to meet in 
Convention were called for, when the following gentlemen were reported by the secretary 
as duly authorized to represent the several churches of the District of Columbia: 

1st Presbyterian Church, Washington. — Rev. W. T. Sprole, William H. Campbell, Daniel 
Campbell, Isaac S. Miller, Andrew Coyle, Leonidas Coyle, Thomas Blagden, Matthew 
St. Clair Clarke, Samuel Byington, Dr. Harvey Lindsly, Dr. Charles G. Page, Joseph E. 
Nourse, Rev. Goodrich Smith, Silas H. Hill, Jos. F. Caldwell, Jeremiah W. Bronaugh. 

2d Presbyterian Church, Washington. — Rev. M. Hale Smith, Hon. John Gluincy Adams, 
Hon. Albion K. Parris, Charles L. Coltman, Michael Nourse, James Moore, Adam T. 
Cavis, George M. Phillips. 

F Street Presbyterian Church. — Rev. Dr. James Laurie, Rev. Ninian Bannatyne, David 
Munro, Frederick A. TschifFely, Hon. Judge Crawford, George Lowry, John D. Barclay, 
Benjamin F. Rittenhouse, Samuel Stott, Peter McMorland, W. D. Brackenridge, Charles 
Stott, Joseph Deeble, Henry Barron. 

4th Presbyterian Church, Washington. — Rev. John C. Smith, John Y. Bryant, James W. 
Moorhead, Nicholas Halter, John McGinnis, Jr., John Neely, Sylvanus Holmes, Mitch- 
ell H. Miller, Moses Kelly, Charles H. Van Patten, George Stettinius, William Nourse, 
David M. Wilson, Jacob Gideon, Alexander Spear, William P. Young, John Vorhees. 

Presbyterian Church under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Eells. — George Gilliss, Elijah R. 
Craven, Mr. Parsons, Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Boyd. Mr. Wales. 

Presbyterian Church, Georgetown. — Samuel G. Davidson, S. H. Howell. 

1st Presbyterian Church, Alexandria. — Rev. Joshua N. Danforth, Robert Jamieson, Wil- 
liam Harper, G. W. D. Ramsay, John Douglass, A. D. Harmon. 

2d Presbyterian Church, Alexandria. — Rev. Elias Harrison, John C. Vowell, Anthony C. 
Cazenove, Thomas Sanford, Robert W. Hunter, James McKenzie, William Gregory, 
Robert Bell, Henry Cook, Robert Brockett, Lewis McKenzie, William Page, William 
McKnight, Samuel Adams, David Appich, James Stewart, Hugh C. Smith, Edward 
Green, Mr. Easby, William C. Fountain. 

Christ Church, Washington. — Rev. Henry H. Bean, Rezin Arnold, Samuel Hanson, Jo- 



seph L. C. Hardy, Archibald Henderson, John P. Ingle, A. H. Lawrence, Henry Nay- 
lor, James Tucker. 

Trinity Church, Washington. — Rev. Horace Stringfellow, Hon. J. McPherson Berrien, 
Hon. John A. Dix, Richard S. Coxe, A. Bledsoe, Darius Clagett, Dr. Bailey Washington, 
William Noland, Joseph H. Bradley, D. W. Middleton, Joseph Ingle, Ebenezer L. 
Childs, A. Baldwin, A. N. Zevely. 

Church of the Ascension, Washington. — Rev. Levin J. Gilliss, Anthony Holmead, Wil- 
liam B. Todd, John A. M. Duncanson, James J. Randolph, Benjamin Homans, Samuel 
Butt, Oramel H. Throop, Theodore L. Moody, Gustavus Waters, Francis S. Dunham. 

Foundry Church, Washington. — Rev. Henry Tarring, Rev. F. A. Morgan, Rev. Charles 
A. Davis, Presley Simpson, Townshend Waugh, E. Waters, Abner H. Young, David A. 
Gardiner, Hobart Berrian, Christopher Cammack, Edward Owen, H. W. Balmain, R. W. 
Bates, John Hart, John L. Clubb, John Phillips, Robert Ricketts. 

Wesley Chapel, Washington. — Rev. N. Wilson, Thomas Pursell, Charles Lane, James 
Deeble, Dr. Flodoardo Howard, George Thompson, Matthew Waite, James Lusby, A. J. 
Duvall, William Millburn, F. A. Tucker, Hon. Judge McLean, Samuel Edwards, 
Herrick, Enoch Tucker, B. K. Morsell. 

Methodist Protestant Church, Washington. — Rev. Ulysses Ward, William Doughty, Dr. 
Matchett. 

Ryland Chapel, Washington. — Rev. French S. Evans, William Bird, William Lloyd, 
Thomas K. Gray, George Garrett, J. P. West, John McPherson, Frederick Luff, Joseph 
Davis, George Burns, John Shiles, John Davis, John G. Smith, John L. Smith, Butler 
Baker, James P. Espy, Isaac Stoddart, James White, John Murphy, William Hanson, 
John Tucker, George W. Hinton. 

McKendree Chapel, Washington. — Rev. William G. Eggleston, John C. Harkness, H.G. 
O'Neal, James N. Davis, William Clark, Joseph Bryan, J. T. Walker, William Lewis, 
Thomas H. Havenner, Asa Gladman, Zephaniah Jones. 

Ebenezer Station, Washington. — Rev. Oliver Ege, Samuel A. H. Marks, James Crandell, 
Thomas Owens, William Dixon, Lewis A. Newman, Joseph W. Beck, Richard Carter, 
William H. Bland, Henry Selby, Alexander Kibby. 

From Columbian College. — Rev. J. S. Bacon, D. D. 

Methodist Episcopal Church, Alexandria. — Rev. Job Guest, Rev. Isaac Robins, Rev. John 
L. Pascoe, William M. Berkely, JohnT. Audley, George Bryan, Dr. Williams. 

Methodist Protestant Church, Alexandria. — Rev. Dr. John S. Reese, Rev. Thomas McCor- 
mick, James Vansant, William Johnson, William D. Massey, James C. Good, Robert L. 
Brockett. 

1st Baptist Church, Washington. — Rev. Obadiah B. Brown, Isaac Clark, William Q,. 
Force. 

E Street Baptist Church, Washington. — Rev. George W. Samson, Rev. A. Samson, An- 
drew Roth well, Robert P. Anderson, William Mann, C. O. Gray. 

Baptist Church, Navy Yard, Washington. — Rev. C. R. Hendrickson, Robert Clarke, Wil- 
liam H. Custis. 

St. PauVs Lutheran Church, Washington. — Rev. A. A. Muller, D. D, Andrew Noerr, 
John Myers, John Moore, C. Stuck. 

German Evangelical Church, Washington. — Christian Eckloff, George Wilner. 

Congressional Prayer Meeting. — Hon. Robert P. Dunlap, of Maine, Hon. Charles Hud- 
son, of Massachusetts, Hon. Amos Abbott, of Massachusetts, Hon. Jacob Collamer, of 
Vermont, Hon. Paul Dillingham, Jr., of Vermont, Hon, James Black, of Pennsylvania, 



Hon. Jacob ST Yost, of Pennsylvania, Hon. Moses McLean, of Pennsylvania, Hon, 
Henry Grider, of Kentucky, Hon. Milton Brown, of Tennessee, Hon. William L. Yan= 
cey, of Alabama, Rev. Wm. M. Milburn, Rev. S. Tuston. 
On motion, 

Ordered, That the representatives of the "Congressional Prayer Meeting" be recognised 
as entitled to seats in the Convention. 

A committee of five members was appointed to nominate officers, consisting of Rev. Dr. 
Laurie, Rev. Mr. Sprole, Rev. Dr. John S. Reese, Mr. Darius Claggett, and Mr. Jacob 
Gideon ; who presented the following nominations, which were unanimously agreed to : 

President. — Hon. John Gluincy Adams. 

Vice Presidents. — Rev. Horace Stringfellow, Rev. Ulysses Ward, Rev. Henry Tarring 1 , 
Hon. T. Hartley Crawford, Hon. William Cranch, Rev. Elias Harrison, Hon. James 
Dunlop, Mr. Enoch Tucker, Rev. Thomas McCormick, Rev. O. B. Brown, and General 
Archibald Henderson. 

Secretaries. — Matthew St. Clair Clarke, Benjamin Homans, and Andrew Rothwell. 

Mr. Adams having taken the chair, addressed the Convention, returning his acknow- 
ledgments for the distinguished position assigned to him. 

A committee was appointed, consisting of Rev. Joshua N. Danforth, Rev. G. W. Samp- 
son, Rev. Nor veil Wilson, Rev. Mr. Sprole, Rev. Dr. A. A. Muller, and Mr. John P, 
Ingle, who reported resolutions indicating the business to be transacted, and the manner of 
conducting the meeting; which were agreed to, 

1. The Convention shall meet at 10 o'clock A. M., and adjourn at 2 o'clock P. M., to 
meet again at 7 P. M. 

2. Each meeting of the Convention shall be opened and closed with prayer, for the 
Divine guidance and blessing. 

3. All committees shall be appointed by the chair, unless otherwise ordered by the Con- 
vention. 

4. Business shall be taken up in the order in which it shall be presented by the Com- 
mittee on Business. 

5. All resolutions shall be in writing ; and, after being read in the hearing of the 
Convention, shall be passed into the hands of the Business Committee, for their report on 
the same to the Convention. 

6. No person shall speak more than fifteen minutes at any time; nor more than once on 
any question, without leave of the Convention. 

7. When all business presented by the committee shall have been disposed of, any mem- 
ber of the Convention may, on his own responsibility, present any resolutions that may, 
in his view, be adapted to promote the sacred observance of the Lord's day, to the con- 
sideration of the Convention. 

And, after prayer, the Convention adjourned till to-morrow, at 10 o'clock A. M. 

February 25. 

Convention met; President in the Chair. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Harrison. 

On motion, Rev. F. Mills was admitted as a member of the Convention. 

Mr. Sprole, from the Committee on Business, reported certain resolutions, which, after 
discussion, and amendments to some of them, are as follows: 

Resolved, That in the appointment of the Sabbath by Almighty God; in the sanction 
given to it by his own example ; in the command which he has given man to keep it holy; 



6 

and in the invaluable blessings which he has brought within the reach of all who observe 
it, according to his own direction, we recognise his wisdom and goodness. 

Resolved, That we regard the example of the fathers of our country, in acknowledging 
the Sabbath as a Divine institution ; in abstaining on that day from secular employment ; 
and in appropriating it to the exercise of religion, as worthy of all imitation. 

Resolved, That the priceless blessings secured to us by the labors of men in former times 
to save the Sabbath from desecration, should excite our warmest gratitude, and lead us to 
untiring efforts to hand the same blessings down to those who are to follow us. 

Resolved, That we regard the preservation of our social, civil, and religious institutions, 
ns intimately connected with the proper observance of the Sabbath ; and that it is our duty, 
as patriots, to do all in our power to meet the responsibilities, and discharge the duties, 
connected with the proper observance of that sacred day. 

Resolved, That the increasing interest which has been recently manifested, in various 
parts of our great Confederacy, to promote the observance of the Sabbath, is a matter of 
thanksgiving ; and that we regard it as a happy evidence that the people are becoming 
more alive than ever to the advantages of keeping the Sabbath holy. 

Resolved, That, as the Sabbath was designed by its great author to promote the physical, 
intellectual, and moral well-being of all his intelligent creatures, none have a right to 
deny to their fellow-men the opportunity it affords for securing all the blessings it was 
intended to confer. 

Resolved, That inasmuch as facts prove, that the desecration of the Sabbath, by secular 
business, travelling, and pleasure, is at war with man's pecuniary interest, bodily health, 
and moral purity, the best interests of men urge them to keep it holy. 

Resolved, That public men, who are raised by the suffrages of a free people to fill places 
of official dignity and power, are laid under peculiar obligations to set an example, with 
regard to the Lord's Day, which shall be safe and salutary to their fellow-men, and which 
shall tend to render the observance of that day universal. 

Resolved, That we notice, with peculiar satisfaction, the excellent example of some of our 
most distinguished fellow-citizens in keeping holy the Sabbath Day; and in their disposi- 
tion to encourage and assist all under their control in availing themselves of its rest and 
privileges. 

Resolved, That, as the observance of the Sabbath has an important bearing on the moral 
character of the youth of our community, it is obviously the duty of all parents, masters, 
and others, having the control of youth, to do all in their power to have them keep invio- 
late this day of sacred rest. 

Resolved, That heads of families, in providing themselves with facts illustrating the tem- 
poral and spiritual advantages of the Sabbath, and communicating a knowledge of the 
same to those committed to their care, would greatly promote their welfare. 

Resolved, That the connection between the desecration of the Sabbath, and the use, as a 
beverage, of intoxicating liquors, and the traffic in them for that purpose, and the aid which 
each affords in the promotion of the other, should lead the friends of temperance, as well 
as of the Sabbath, to persevere in judicious efforts to cause each of these evils to be done 
away. 

Resolved, That bodies of men, by being incorporated for private or public objects, have 
no more right to desecrate the Sabbath than individuals: and that the members of such 



b odies are as really bound to observe it, in their public and official acta, as they are in 
ndividuals and private transactions among their fellow-men. 

Resolved, That, inasmuch as the Christian Sabbath is intended as a day of spiritual de- 
votion, it be earnestly recommended to all those Associations whose custom it is to bury 
their members with public honors, to choose, if practicable, some other day than the Sabbath 
for these peculiar ceremonies ; or, out of respect to the moral and religious sense of the 
community, to dispense with martial music and all unnecessary display. 

Resolved, That the Clergy of the different denominations of Christians in this District 
be respectfully requested to preach annually a sermon or sermons adapted to promote the 
due observance of the Lord's Day ; and that all be entreated, by the universal diffusion of 
information, by united example and kind moral influence, to make persevering efforts to 
cause the sacred observance of that day to become universal ; and whereas it has been re- 
presented, that some of the offices of Government have been occasionally kept open on the 
Sabbath Day for the transaction of public business, this Convention deeply deplore the 
fact, and sincerely hope that such practice would not continue. 

Resolved, That each congregation, within the District limits, be respectfully requested 
to appoint a committee of three, to be denominated the " Sabbath Committee," whose 
business it shall be, by all prudent and possible means, to dissuade, and, as far as may be, 
restrain the youth of our cities from the desecration of the Lord's Day. 

A letter was received from Dr. Samuel J. B. Morse, which was read and laid on the 
table. 

After prayer by Rev. Mr. Brown, adjourned to meet at 7 o'clock P. M. 

Evening Session, 7 o'clock. 

Convention met ; President in the Chair. Prayer by Rev. Mr. Reese. 

The Convention was addressed by Mr. Adams, Rev Dr. Justin Edwards, Hon. William 
L. Yancey, Rev. M. Hale Smith, and Rev. Mr. Danforth. 

A committee was appointed to prepare an address to the public, and also to superintend 
the publication of the proceedings of this Convention, consisting of Rev. Mr. Danforth, 
Rev. Mr. Sprole, and Matthew St. Clair Clarke. 

On motion, the thanks of the Convention were returned to Mr. Adams for presiding at 
their meetings. 

On motion, the thanks of the Convention were returned to the secretaries for their ser- 
vices ; and also to the members of the First Presbyterian Church for the use of their 
house of worship. 

After prayer by Rev. Mr. Sprole, the Convention adjourned sine die. 



ADDRESS 

OF THE LORD'S DAY CONVENTION 

To the Citizens of the District of Columbia, and to the People of 
the United States. 



When, in the progress of thought and observation, it becomes mani 
fest that any particular course of action will accomplish a great good, 
or arrest an acknowledged evil, the friends of humanity will not hesi- 
tate, in a spirit of benevolence, to seize the advantage of such a crisis, 
for the attainment of so momentous an object. Deeply impressed with 
the truth and importance of this sentiment, the friends of the Christian 
Sabbath, assembled in a Convention, representing different denomina- 
tions, at the city of Washington, on the 24th of February, 1846, im- 
prove the occasion to address their fellow-citizens on what they deem a 
subject of the first importance, the sanctification of the Lord's Day. 
We are the more encouraged to this measure from the fact, that the 
public mind has been recently awakened , in an extraordinary degree, 
not only to the growing evils of Sabbath profanations, but the certainty 
and efficiency of those counteracting remedies, which have already 
been applied with distinguished success. Not that any new discovery 
has been made in the science of moral influence, or in the art of per- 
suasion, but that the more earnest, systematic, and persevering applica- 
tion of established truths to the reflective powers of man, has produced 
that conviction which , by the blessing of God, never fails to lead to 
practical results. These results have been already developed to an ex- 
tent that demands ardent gratitude for the past, and awakens sanguine 
hope for the future. They have been accomplished, not by a resort to 
the pains and penalties of the statute book, nor by petitions for legisla- 
tive aid, but by direct appeals to the moral and religious sense of the 
people, by an array of striking facts, and by arguments drawn from the 
Word of God — the source of law to men . 

Opening that Word, we find, that when God laid the foundations of 
the earth, He laid also the foundation of the happiness of man in the 
institution of the Sabbath. ^The Sabbath was made for man," even 
for man in his primitive innocence and glory. Does he less need it in 
his condition of guilt and apostacy? If, over that condition there 
reigns a dispensation of condescending mercy, is a law of the purest 
mercy to be struck from the heavenly code? So far from this, the law 
of the Sabbath is intimately interwoven with the essential interests of 
the race. There is not a faculty in man, there is neither a form of so- 
ciety, nor a governmental organization, to which there is not, in this 
law, a wise and divine adaptation. In a system of law, embracing the 
whole exercise of his moral agency, this stands a central and a lumi- 
nous point, Of that moral arch, constructed in heaven , and handed 
2 



9 

down on Sinai, amid the excessive glory of that scene, this was the 
keystone . Let no rude hand attempt to dislodge it from its sacred posi- 
tion. Whatever of purity, of necessity, of penalty, and of perpetuity 
belongs to the other precepts of the Decalogue, the same belongs to 
this. If it was the gift of God to man at the creation of the World, it 
will continue to be his birthright to the consummation of all things. If 
alternate labor and rest be the fixed law of his mental and physical be- 
ing; if the activity of the day must be succeeded by the repose of the 
night; then the activity of six days must give way to the rest of the 
seventh. This rule, applicable to all the pursuits of men, cannot be 
violated with impunity. It is a provision under the government of God, 
the excellence and advantage of which are coming to be extensively 
acknowledged in the land. The right of all laboring men to the rest 
of the Sabbath, vested in them by their Creator, and, in many cases, 
unjustly withheld by their employers, is beginning to be acknowledged; 
and, along many of the thoroughfares of the land, this right is restored 
to them, with equal advantage to the employers and the employed. 
This opens the way for the performance of their obligations to God , 
who commands all men to "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it 
holy;" and who has said, "he that getteth riches, and not by right , 
shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool." 
An additional argument for the promotion of Sabbath sanctification 
may be drawn from the present crisis in our national affairs. The right 
observance of the Sabbath, would maintain the peace of the world. 
No moral barrier was ever erected, within the limits of civilization, so 
effectual to restrain the impetuosity of ambition, and to roll back the 
broad tumultuous tide of human passions, ever prone to make war on 
the institutions of God. Without adverting minutely to the history of 
the French revolution, at the close of the last century, in the progress 
of which, the thrones and the altars were overturned, the Bible com- 
mitted to the flames, the Sabbath abolished, Christianity pronounced 
an imposture, and death decreed an eternal sleep; we have but to look 
at some of the nations of our own continent, to learn the difficulty of 
maintaining even the forms of peaceful government, much more a high 
standard of public morality and patriotic devotion, without the conserv- 
ative influence of the Sabbath. Among a people, where the doctrine 
of "peace on earth and good will to men" is but rarely taught, or, if 
taught, indifferenlly received, not permeating the mass of the popular 
sentiment, there is not only a tendency , but a readiness to appeal to the 
sword, as the final instrument of terminating the struggle. This vio- 
lent mode of decision has, indeed, become the reproach of Christian 
nations. But let the full power of the holy institution of God , with its 
associated instructions, be felt through the nations, and they would learn 
weir no more. The sound of violence would no more be heard in their 
] tm d — wasting nor destruction within their boarders — their walls would 
be salvation, and their gates praise. The era of the world's pacification 
would be celebrated in every language and in every clime. The olive 



10 

branch of peace would be interwoven with the well earned chapiet, ad- 
judged by grateful millions to noble men, who had distinguished them- 
selves rather by the benign victories of peace, than the rough conquests 
of the battle-field. The spirit of the millenium would reign through 
all hearts, and the sublime anthem of praise would rise from earth to 
heaven, and be echoed in sweeter strains from heaven to earth — "Glory 
to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men." 

The right to the Lord's Day, for the purpose of rest and devotion, is 
recognised by the National Government. As a general rule, no legis- 
lation takes place on that day; no executive sessions are held; no mes- 
sages are sent by the President; no cabinet councils are convened; the 
courts of justice suspend their functions; the public offices are closed, 
and, by a happy practice, originating in necessity, and continued by 
choice, the Hall of Representatives itself becomes the weekly scene of 
the worship of God, on his own day, and in the most simple form. 
The same practice, of cessation from business, prevails under the gov- 
ernments of the respective States. The laws are comparatively silent, 
as if in deferential homage to the supreme law of the Lord's Day. In- 
deed, were the duty of keeping the Sabbath literally enjoined in the 
constitution of each Commonwealth on its public officers, it could 
scarcely be more regarded, in their official capacity, than it is at present. 

There is indeed one painful exception, that of the Post Office De- 
partment, under the administration of which the Lord's Day is habitu- 
ally violated by the transportation of the mail, and the opening of post 
offices. This system, which originated in the unnatural state, and amid 
the extraordinary emergencies of war, should have ceased with the 
cause that brought it into existence. Instead of this, it has expanded 
itself with the growth of our country, an anomaly in our civil and po- 
litical institutions, and an infraction of the rights of some thousands of 
our fellow-citizens, in a republic where the sense of personal freedom, 
and the sentiment of individual right, are supposed to be stronger and 
more enlightened than under any government on earth. Yet this Gov- 
ernment, representing citizens, not subjects, existing in the providence 
and under the protection of Almighty God, fails to recognise, in their 
true extent, either the rights of God or of the citizens in whom the 
sovereignty resides. The alternative of violating a wholesome law, or 
of resigning the privileges of office, in effect a disfranchisement, should 
never be presented to an American citizen. By the grant of his Crea- 
tor, he is entitled to the whole of the Sabbath; nor can any power on 
earth make void that grant. All we ask is, the protection of the Gov- 
ernment in the enjoyment of our rights. The right to worship God, on 
his own appointed day, according to the dictates of our consciences, is 
derived directly from Him, and is therefore too sacred to be questioned, 
much more to be sacrificed by any earthly power. Nor ought the plea 
of necessity to be urged. An habitual disregard of the injunctions of 
a good law cannot, in the nature of things, be necessary; and, in point 
of fact, we find that great and dense communities can pass the Sabbath 



11 

without mail operations. In the city of London, that vast commercial 
and political metropolis, as we are informed, the post office is closed 
throughout the Sabbath, and there are no arrivals or departures of mails 
on that day. 

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the example of the 
Government of the United States, as Connected with this subject. It is 
the Government of a peculiar people, an eclectic people, sifted from the 
nations of the old world on whom the decrepitude of age is advancing, 
and now springing forward with the vigorous elasticity of youth, to take 
possession of a lofty destiny. Shall the institutions of God accompany 
us in our onward career? Will the Sabbath go with us, inseparably 
intertwined as it is with all that is sacred and glorious in Christianity 
itself; and that Christianity, too, theoretically the common law of the 
land? If not, we shall be marked, in the calendar of time, and gazed 
on by future generations, as the most stupendous architects of self-ruin 
that ever found a place in the records of history. And on the monu- 
ment that will rise in melancholy grandeur over the grave of our insti- 
tutions, our liberties, and our happiness, will be read this inscription: 
" Thus endeth the nation that cast off its allegiance to 
God, and gloried in its own wisdom, wealth, and power." 

But we hope better things, though we thus speak. In the spirit of 
this hope, we appeal, first to our fellow-citizens of this District, dwelling 
in the presence of the constituted authorities of the nation, and with 
solemn earnestness we invoke your aid in this holy cause; we address 
ourselves to the ministers of God, to whom each revolving Sabbath 
gives the public ear, and we say, fill that ear with sound arguments and 
divine persuasion; to professional men, lend us the influence of your 
high example, and the efficiency of your personal exertions; to political 
men, seek the repose of the Sabbath, as the best antidote to the fever 
of party strife; to heads of families, reverence the Lord's Day, with 
all your house, for it is the ark of your salvation, the sun and the shield 
of domestic happiness; to business men, pause in the pursuit of gain, 
and give to God his rights, that he may give you a healthful prosperity; 
to the proprietors of public conveyances, restore to those in your service 
the privileged rest of the Sabbath, let your steam -fires go down, and 
your wheels be silent, for the day is not yours, but the Lord's; finally, 
to Christians of every name, here and throughout the land, we appeal, 
that the energy of your prayers, and the diligence of your exertions, 
may be consecrated to this noble work. Thus shall we best provide 
for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and ensure do- 
mestic tranquillity. The blessings of unborn generations will come 
upon us, and, above all, we shall secure the perpetual favor of Him, 
wnose word is forever settled in heaven, that while "Righteousness 
exalteth a nation, sin is a reproach to any people." 
JOSHUA N. DANFORTH, 
WM. THOS. SPROLE, 
MATTHEW ST. CLAIR CLARKE, 

Committee of Convention, 



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